Tissue pack dispenser for urinals



Dec. 22, 1970 J. E. SAMSON I 3,549,225

TISSUE PACK DISPENSER FOR URINALS Filed Aug. 4, 1967 INVENTOR JOSEPH E. SAMSON BY ffi 11 United States Patent Olfice 3,549,226 Patented Dec. 22, 1970 3,549,226 TISSUE PACK DISPENSER FOR URINALS Joseph Edouard Samson, 83 Binscarth Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Filed Aug. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 658,383 Int. Cl. A47f 3/02; B65d 83/08 U.S. Cl. 312-42 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This specification discloses a tissue pack dispenser for urinals having a drain with a small round inlet port with the tissues taking the form of discs of the same size as said port and of a material that disintegrates upon contact with water and which is treated with a disinfectant and/ or a deodorant. The discs are held in pack form by an adhesive strip anchored to end boards and edges of the discs. The dispenser has a tapered slot in the front and when the discs are assembled therein the adhesive strip is diametrically opposite to the slot.

The present invention relates broadly to tissue packs and the dispensers thereof, and is concerned primarily with a device intended for use by men in conjunction with urinals.

At the present time members of the male sex experience annoyance and inconvenience in cleansing the tip of a penis after urinating. It is, of course possible to use conventional toilet paper for this purpose but public urinals are not adapted to the disposal of such tissue. The only presently available alternative is for the man who has finished urinating to shake ln's penis in attempt to remove any remaining drops of urine. This is the practise to which men now commonly resort but it has proven, in many instances, to be only partially elfective and, therefore, unsatisfactory.

For many years the urinals to be found in public lavatories have been characterized by the presence of a drain, the inlet opening of which is covered by some form of screen which prevents cigarette butts, matches and other forms of refuse which may be found in a mens lavatory from entering the drain. Such devices have definitely precluded the use of tissue for the purpose of this invention.

It happens that, in accordance with recent developments, the urinals now being installed in public washrooms include a drain, the inlet port of which, except for its size, is unrestricted and open. Such inlet ports are usually in the form of a small circular opening.

With the foregoing conditions in mind, the present invention has in view, as an important object, the provision of a pack of tissues, each of which is shaped and dimensioned to facilitate disposal thereof in a modern urinal of the type above noted. The tissue employed is of the type which readily disintegrates under the application of water. Tissue of this kind is now well known and available being widely used in the production of toilet tissue, facial tissue and the like.

The above end is attained by providing a pack of circular tissues having a diameter in the nature of two inches. This size, coupled with the shape, insures of substantially instantaneous disposal that is further enhanced by the tendency to disintegrate.

Another object is to provide a pack of tissues of the character aforesaid which is readily adaptable to be carried about on the person for intermittent use and which accommodates the easy withdrawal from the pack, of an individual tissue when its use is required.

This object is achieved by providing a pack comprising rigid endboards of a material such as cardboard and between which is sandwiched a desired number of the tissues. The end boards are of the same circular shape and size as the tissues and a strip of adhesive joins the end boards and is adhesively secured to the edges of the tissues. After removal from an envelope an endboard may be opened and a tissue conveniently removed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser for tissue packs of the character noted. This idea is carried out by providing a cylindrical container having a bore dimensioned to snugly receive one or more packs. The container has fixed bottom and top closures. The cylindrical wall is formed at the front with a slot having side edges that converge from a Wider spacing at the top to a narrow spacing at the bottom with the side edges being curved due to the cylindrical contour.

Where one or more packs of the type above noted are positioned in such a container the adhesive strip is located at the back in a position substantially diametrically opposite to the slot. This arrangement, coupled with the shape of the slot facilitates withdrawal of an individual tissue from the top of the pack at all vertical heights of the latter.

Yet another object in view, is to provide a container of tissue packs of the type noted with means for mounting the same on a wall in position closely adjacent to a urinal. Any conventional mounting structure for establishing either a permanent or detachable mounting may be employed.

Another important object is to provide a tissue pack of the kind described in which the tissues are impregnated with a disinfectant and/or deodorant. This feature is particularly indicated by the intended use of the tissues.

Various other more detailed objects and advantages of the invention, such as arise in connection with carrying out the above noted ideas in a practical embodiment, will in part become apparent, and in part be hereinafter stated, as the description of the invention proceeds.

For a full and more complete understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a portion of a lavatory illustrating a urinal with parts broken away and the dispenser of this invention adjacent thereto.

FIG. 2 is another perspective on an enlarged scale of the dispenser as permanently mounted and containing tissue discs.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a tissue disc per se.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of a pack of tissues in a distended position.

FIG. 5 is a perspective of a package intended for retail distribution; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective of a slightly modified form of dispenser which is removably mounted in position.

Referring now to the drawing, and first more particularly to FIG. 1 the wall of a public lavatory is designated 10. Mounted on the wall 10 is a urinal 11. The latter has a drain 12 the upper end of which takes the form of a small circular inlet port 13. This port 13 must be capable of receiving the tissue discs of this invention for disposal purposes.

A dispenser is identified in its entirety by the reference character D. It is mounted on the wall 10 in a position conveniently accessible to a person using the urinal 11.

The dispenser D comprises a cylindrical wall 14 the top end of which is provided with a closure 15 having a flange 16 which overlaps the end portion of the wall 14. At the bottom there is a similar closure 17. Any appropriate device for mounting the dispenser D on the wall 10 may be employed. In the illustrated embodiment a pair of brackets 18 and 19 are secured to the wall 10 by screws 20 and cooperate to define a channel 21 which receives a detent 22 on the flange 16 of the top closure 15. A similar arrangement of brackets is also utilized at the bottom to receive a similar detent on the closure 17.

The wall. 14 is .formed with a tapered slot defined by converging side edges 23 and 24, a top edge 25, and a bottom edge 26. Due to the cylindrical shape of the wall 14 the sideedges 23 and 24 are curved. The top edge 26 is spaced inwardly of the closure flange 16 and has an extent substantially equal to one half the circumference of the wall 14. This extent permits the introduction of tissue discs into the dispenser at this zone.

The bottom edge 26 is spaced above the flange of closure 17 and is quite short. The converging relation of the side edges retains tissue. discs within the wall yet permits of their withdrawal,

A single tissue disc is illustrated in FIG. 3 and designated 27. It is of a tissue paper that readily disintegrates upon contact with water. It may be impregnated with either a disinfectant, a deodorant, or both.

The diametrical dimension of the disc 27 is of importance as is its shape. Both of these properties are related to the, inlet port 13. Like the latter the disc 27 is circular and is of a diameter that is related to the diameter of the port 13. As a general rule it may be stated that it should be of substantially the same diameter as the inlet port13. This diameter is in the nature of two inches.

A pack of tissue discs is depicted in FIG. 4 and referred to in its entirety by the reference character P. The pack Pcomprises an appropriate number of the discs 27 which are arranged in aligned compact form, At the opposite ends are endboards 28 and 29 which may be of any material having the required property of rigidity. Cardboard is a good example of such a material. A strip 30 of what is commonly known as an adhesive strip has its ends anchored to the endboards 28 and 29 and between these endboardsis adhesively attached to the edges of the tissue discs 27. r

1 When. one or more pack P are assembled within the dispenser D the strip 30 is located directly opposite to the slot in the wall 14, that'is, it is diametrically opposite to the slot. This arrangement facilitates withdrawal of an individual tissueas it is pulled more or less directly away from the adhesive binding.

7 This invention contemplates the situationwhere a pack P is carried about on the person of a fastidious user. Thus it is believed a plurality of such packs may be assembled in a package as shown in FIG. '5 and sold to the retail trade asby druggists. In FIG. four of the packs P are assembled in a'transparent wrapper 31 which may be of a material such as cellophane.

FIG. .6 illustrates a slightly modified form of mounting for the dispenser. In this form a single bracket 32 has side flanges 33 which converge inwardly and downwardly, thereby providing a pocket for the reception of a block 34 carried by the wall 14 of the dispenser D. With this structural arrangement thedispenser D is removably mounted on the wall 10.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination; a dispenser intended to be mounted adjacent to a urinal having a drain ;with a small circular inlet port, said dispenser comprising: a cylindrical wall defining a bore of substantially the same diameter as said inlet port and formed with a tapered slot presenting curved converging edges; said edges being spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the diameter of the wall at the top and slightly spaced from the top edge of the wall, and more narrowly spaced at the bottom, with the slot terminating at a point spaced from the bottom edge of the wall; a fixed top closure assembled with said cylindrical wall over the top edge thereof; a fixed bottom closure over the bottom edge of said wall; and mounting means carried by said closures; and at least one tissuepack snugly received in said bore, said pack comprising a plurality of discs of tissue that disintegrates upon contact with water; and an adhesive strip secured to the edges of said discs and located diametrically opposite to said slot.

2. The combination tissue pack and dispenser of claim p 1 in which the tissue disc are impregnated with a disiniectant.

. 3. The combination tissue pack and dispenser of claim 1 in which each tissue pack includes a pair of rigid endboards at the opposite ends thereof.

4. The combination tissue pack and dispenser of claim 1 in which the mounting means is permanent.

5. The combination tissue pack and dispenser of claim 1 in which the mounting means is removable.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 

